Saint-Roch

296, rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris

Orgue Chapelle de la vierge

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C3 The organ in the Chapel of the Virgin has had a rather eventful history. Originally built by Abbey for the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, it was the very first choir organ in Paris. In 1833, Canon Olivier, who owned the instrument, was appointed parish priest at Saint-Roch and had the organ transferred there, where it was placed in the choir. When Cavaillé built the new choir organ in 1845, the instrument was moved to the Chapel of the Calvary. This meant that the organ case had to be shortened so that its height would match that of the chapel. In 1849, the chapel was demolished, and the organ was placed in the Chapel of the Virgin. Between 1877 and 1880, Cavaillé-Coll made further changes, adding stops and installing a “moving ceiling” to make the instrument expressive. In 1932, Gutschenritter altered the sound design of the instrument by adding tuning slots to the pipes. In 1973, the organ was completely restored by Swidersky, who carried out the work with the aim of bringing it back close to the instrument originally built by Abbey. Photos Case: Vincent Hildebrandt Console: Victor Weller